St Pancras gets UK travel industry’s first humanoid robot

Designed by Japanese firm SoftBank Robotics, Pepper analyses human voices, facial expressions and vocabulary to detect and respond to different emotions.

On its website, SoftBank describes Pepper as “the world’s first humanoid robot that can move naturally, avoid obstacles, identify sounds, and recharge independently.”

“Pepper offers a fun way for customers to find out more about their journey and destination, and we look forward to hearing the feedback from our customers so that we can continue to improve their experience,” said Perrine Allain, Head of Digital at Eurostar.

Pepper will remain at St Pancras for the rest of the year, and move to other high-speed rail operators in 2019.

Though a first for the UK travel industry, a host of humanoid robots have already been put to work at airports and hotels around the world.